Bonds: A Cursed Six novel (The Cursed Six Book 1) Read online

  Contents

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Epilogue

  Bonds:

  A Cursed Six novel

  By Clarrisa R. Smithe

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission. For permission, please email [email protected].

  Copyright © 2017 by Clarrisa R. Smithe

  All rights reserved.

  Smithe, Clarrisa R.

  Bonds: A Cursed Six novel 1st edition / Clarrisa R. Smithe.

  PUBLISHER'S NOTE

  Bonds: A Cursed Six novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  [1. Locations—Fiction. 2. Historical accounts—Fiction. 3. Human diseases—Fiction. 4. Finvaria—Fiction. 5. Dynasties—Fiction. 6. Author—Fiction.]

  *****

  It is said, that long before there was a king, there was a man. A man of a face of no consequence. A man who coveted beyond his pocket and thus journeyed the path of darkness. A darkness that forevermore did preside over his children, and his children's children. While it was, indeed, his pockets came to know no depth, so too did his years become numbered. Thirty-five.

  Thirty-five; may no Misseldon-born breathe life beyond the span.

  *****

  Misseldon Household

  ~ 1520 ~

  1

  ~ PRINCE ETHAN ~

  Thelle, Thellemere

  In the midst of the dining hall, where sound had the tendency to draw on for eons, sunlight palpitating through the rose stained windows above and falling in iridescent patterns over the shared midday meal, Prince Ethan's fork collided with his sister's, staying it over the steamed fresh potato slices. His eyes were the color of stormy teal seas as they narrowed.

  "Have you never heard before, princesses should eat in moderation?"

  Eleanor's eyes had previously remained as lively as one could imagine as she dug into potato after potato. How many she had devoured, it was impossible to say, though the clash of fine silver caused her grey gaze to harden. Her brother was offered a glare that suggested he may as well have moved to strike her with a blade, a clash of swords rather than forks.

  "Have you heard..." She gulped down the chunk of potato that seemed likely to fly across the table in the direction of their older sister if no attempt to devour was made. "Have you heard... that I don't care?" The fork was abandoned, clattering against the porcelain with no regard for its fineness.

  The Prince sat back, a perfectly written scowl across his lips. No sooner, it shifted into a characteristic deign, a fleck of bigoted arrogance slithering in.

  He was dressed as fine as he always was, clothed from head to toe in wool darker than obsidian rock, floral patterns woven down the breast vesture, over the clasp joining the tunic to the tight fit of the slender frame. His fork deviated away from Eleanor's, mindful of the hazardous proximity she brought on. Instead, the three-toothed utensil was directed towards Astrid.

  "Perhaps you should strive to be more like our eldest bore of a sister. Sit straight and look impeccably ignorant along the way. What say you, Astrid?"

  Unlike her sister, Astrid tended to each piece of potato carefully. A thin sliver, never too big a chunk, a delicate slip off the fork and into her soft, pink lips. Everything carefully chewed, a dab of the napkin here and there.

  The sisters had one of few things in common, and that was the glance of annoyance towards the brother who dared interrupt them. The icy look met Ethan's briefly before it slid to the fork, bringing forth the glare of disapproval.

  "You are old enough to know that it is quite rude to point." The voice was prissy and sharp, for she was the perfect example of perfect manners, or at least that was how she perceived herself. "Though I do think that Eleanor ought to take better care in her dining habits."

  "What's the point of taking your time if it's going to get cold?"

  "Perhaps consider smaller portions."

  The girl scoffed and offered a laugh which then suggested she knew the contents of a sore subject for the eldest princess.

  But Ethan cared not one way or the other about what Astrid did. She could starve herself to the point of a sickly, sinuous bride which foreign princes pined after—so long as she did not influence Eleanor the same. He wanted his younger sister to dine properly, yes, but never to underfeed herself to the extent of bad health.

  After all, someday he and Eleanor would wed and appearances would be everything. He opened his mouth to say as much, but words never succeeded beyond a puff of breath before A'zur interrupted.

  Their eldest brother was not one easily forgotten. His presence did not fade into the background as might Edgar or young Alan's. It was a grueling, irksome force that pervaded and ruined meals.

  "Maybe silence is the tone we ought all take, for we are but days before a sacrifice that will lie down in history itself." Bronze curls infiltrated nothing, for it was styled back and tucked vigilantly behind his ears. It allowed the cool grey stones to bore into each of them, except Astrid.

  Ethan huffed—then dropped his fork all together. "Great, you ruined my meal."

  "Good," was all the male said before he continued his own.

  Prince Ethan looked between his two eldest siblings. A'zur and Astrid, they did not share features quite as distinctly as the younger four children. But by their stoic nature and ever-living decency, they may as well have been the same person. In an unsettling way, it reminded him of his father and mother, the King and Queen of Thellemere.

  And no, it was not talk of the sacrifice that ruined Ethan's meal. It did not bother him the slightest, this curse living century to century in their bloodline. Yes, the Misseldon Household was fated to die at the ripe turning of thirty-five years, and yes their father the King may have proposed the blood sacrifice of their youngest brother, Alan, in an attempt to appease the Gods and stave off the curse—but by the Gods, it'd been the talk of days and days and days. And frankly, it was about as much a bore as Astrid herself.

  But A'zur's all-knowing persona, spieled over the dining hall table? That was about as foul—if not more so—as knowing your youngest brother was destined to die in eight moons.

  Ethan frowned. "Besides, I see no reason to spoil the day over one life. Surely my future queen can agree." He looked to Eleanor.

  The young Princess indulged her betrothed with the briefest of glares, though deep in the warm slate of her eyes resided a flash of distress, emerging, as always, when discussion of Alan's sacrifice was occurring. "Hmph." The target of interest was the platter of steaming potatoes, delightfully fluffy within yet golden and crispy on the e
xterior.

  "Manners!" Astrid erupted as her eyes harboured some rare vibrancy when she was pretending to be grown-up. Issue was noted when Eleanor reached, rather than requested the passing of the platter. "Honestly, you are being deliberately rude."

  "Can I just get my potatoes in peace?"

  "Say please."

  "No." With a pale claw, Eleanor scooped up three handsomely sized roasts which would provide welcome distraction from the company she kept along with soothing her unconquerable appetite. "I just want my potatoes."

  "Yes, Astrid, just give my future queen her potatoes." It was moments like these when Ethan and Eleanor were not quarreling siblings, but one in the same—united by potatoes.

  Eleanor gave one of those peculiar smiles, a straight line of her lips that only curved in the dimpled corners, reminding him she truly did have the potential to be beautiful. What more, the smile only appeared to irk Astrid further.

  The blonde's eyes narrowed. "Say. Please."

  "Make. Me." Eleanor mimicked the tone as she popped a smaller, crispier potato between her lips. "You're just jealous." She chewed for a number of seconds before continuing. "Mother did not give me a telling off about what I eat. I'm still allowed cake."

  "I told you not to speak of it!" A pink tide creeped from the neckline of Astrid's dress, peaking as far as her hairline.

  Ethan shrank back as Eleanor peeled the gauze from what must have been a most sensitive wound for Astrid. Her appearance. More specifically, her weight. Before mean spirited words escalated to something that may well lead to the lot of them getting in trouble, he motioned for them to be still. "Please, please. Not here, right? We can fight later, when we all return to our chamber apartments."

  He looked to A'zur for help, but the male was never one to step between the sisterly dispute.

  It was no secret, the standards forced to be maintained of the eldest children. Their kingdom, Thellemere, was unlike the neighbouring two kingdoms' hierarchy. Here, the king himself determined who would inherit his and the queen's throne. King Robert hadn't chosen his first born son, A'zur or first born daughter, Astrid. He'd chosen him and Eleanor. The third and fourth born children. Simply because A'zur and Astrid would be valuable pawns to wed and expand the kingdom's influence sooner, as A'zur was older and allegedly more intelligent than Ethan (which Ethan disagreed with wholeheartedly), and Astrid had already bled and would be a desirable bride. That is, according to Mother, if she ate this way, walked that way, looked like such and such and followed all of the standards she bequeath upon her.

  Just now, Astrid glanced briefly at the remaining food upon her plate and her brows creased at the sight of the neat little pieces of pork. The rind had been removed, discarded on one side of her plate as if laced with poison. Diseased, cancerous, heretical. It may well have been by the manner in which his sister beheld the strip of fat.

  "Mother told her off about her little bit of a second chin that comes if she smiles too much. She did not say this, but I think she was thinking that if Astrid continued to grow around her rump, she would be hiding a curly tail in her frilly little underclothes."

  As Eleanor threw her head back in mirth, the much fought for potatoes briefly forgotten, Astrid scraped her chair across the floorboards and came to her feet. Even more flushed than before, she examined Ethan and Eleanor with a glare of furious venom. "You both are well suited to each other."

  With that she turned on her heel and strode from the room. The trail of curls bounced as she hurried off in a strop. The clicking of her dainty shoes against the wood was drowned out by Eleanor's even more furious waves of laughter. "She is so angry."

  Ethan's mind was elsewhere. "We did just receive her blessing for our union, yes?"

  Eleanor merely continued to scoff down her potatoes, her laughter dying down.

  A'zur made no show of acknowledging any of the transpired events. No, his brother kept his head about his plate, now eating hurriedly though somehow maintaining a flawless elegance about him as he cleaned the last of the potatoes and pork rinds. When finished, only then did he look up to Ethan and Eleanor, though no words were spared.

  Handkerchief to either corners of his mouth, folded neatly, set aside, he rose and followed after Astrid.

  A'zur always followed after her.

  The bright side? Ethan had just regained his appetite.

  ~ PRINCESS ASTRID ~

  The meal was yet another instance when Astrid was left unsatisfied, with the gnawing itch in her stomach, akin to the rattling of the mice which surely inhabited the ancient castle walls. Regardless of the irritation, she was quite aware that it was worth each moment of discomfort if she could fulfill her role to please.

  Eleanor clearly misunderstood the weight of expectation upon her shoulders, for Eleanor did not have to work to acquire a husband, though Ethan was hardly much of a prize. She did not have to have a carousel of outfits to surprise the male she was destined for. Neither did she come under the relentless examination their mother often conducted. Weight, measurements, hair, skin, and gods did Queen Marianne reprimand her daughter harshly if there was the formation of even the tiniest of pimples. Astrid often wished to retort with a howl of laughter in her mother's face, for imagine if a blemish upon her cheek really did cost the formation of a bond between two royal dynasties! Naturally she would never dare answer back. A lady must always know when to hold her tongue.

  She imagined that the desserts would be being brought to her siblings as she made her way to her bedchambers. Cake, most likely, either one large one or a number of smaller ones, each one of a different flavour. It had become a poison to her now. It would ruin her and destroy her prospects. Many times Astrid had witnessed Eleanor grin in satisfaction and give a slow roll of her eyes in appreciation of thick layers of jam and cream. Before it became a problem for her Astrid may have reacted in the same manner, and truly she adored the taste of sponge, but she had to resist such gluttonous temptations.

  Once in her bedchamber away from the ruckus, she took in a deep breath to expel the bad mood, then smiled at the sound of the approaching footsteps.

  They were completely expected for there was only one person in the entire world who would follow and support her through anything. Silence had been his action at the dinner table and Astrid did not blame him. It was a squabble of the immature variety and Eleanor would learn in time that future Queens had best amend their behaviour at the dinner table lest they struggle in all situations outside of domestic routine.

  Astrid turned slowly on her heels to face A'zur.

  "Sometimes I think you and I would be best dining together. Just the two of us." She crossed her hands behind her back and swayed slightly, like a bashful schoolgirl, though the reaction could not be helped when he was so lovely to her. "You're a man after all, not a child. And I must be a woman now, or nearly so." Astrid slid her arm forward to permit her hand to brush lightly against his sleeve before she slid her palm into his. Their fingers latched together and Astrid did little to hide her eagerness as he was her favourite person, and this was one of her favourite places. "Can I steal you away before bedtime?"

  There was a space of time before long fingers obliged, closing around hers slowly. Before tugging her towards him. He didn't answer her question. He seldom answered her questions. "They are children, wherefore their words reflect as much. Tell me you are fine."

  Her dearest brother's welcome grasp offered as much warmth as she saw in the rich bronze of his hair. The curls around his ears, so gentle despite the formal neatness. A'zur's gaze radiated a similar heat, grey but never cold, at least not in Astrid's opinion. The prince was almost impossibly tall but there was something rather sweet about appearing so little in her brother's company. For all her life he had been her protector, guiding her and being the cause of her most natural of smiles. Through the most trying times he was the brightest star in the endless night, the one they would watch together as children. People did not understand him and viewed him with the
same superstition as they did that bright entity. In truth, it wounded Astrid, for it was upsetting that he was so misunderstood, yet a part of her relished the fact that she was the closest to his heart, and understood him more so than anyone else.

  "Sometimes it is a little too much." A squeeze of his hand, coupled with a softening of her expression came next. "There is a great deal of expectation that I am keen to live up to but it is very tiring." Astrid sighed and offered him a somewhat wistful smile. "I am fine now that I am with you."

  Neither satisfaction nor refute primed through his gaze towards her response. The matte grey skies were calculative for a long stretch, his thumb making leisure circles between the valley of her fingers. "I think your mind is crowding. There is too much going on around you."

  A wisp of her golden tresses was then invited between the sieve of his fingers as he stroked the frame of her face. "You must relax. Find joy in your day, while keeping to your purpose."

  He was correct, as always. There was a great deal happening around them and she was losing the momentum to tread water and was at great risk of drowning in her troubles. A'zur did help her remain afloat, a familiar buoyancy against the rising tides.

  She tightened her grasp. "I find the greatest joy with you, big brother."

  Had his eyes lowered to her lips? Perhaps it was because she was so very short in comparison to his fine physique, but there was still a chance he wished to do something so pure, yet dishonest when it came to her. There was no time to tell, his features assuming their serious edges in rapid motion.

  "Am I the only one who will mourn when our youngest brother is no more?" The shift was hard and brutal, the topic placing erasure over any hint of unfolding affections. While mourn was hardly a relative term in matters of her brother, there lay more agitation than grief in his words.